The Warrior of Avelyn

ⅩⅩⅨ

Victor's eyes lit up when Clara walked back into the room with a tray of the purple tea he had grown so fond of.

Clara sat down next to Hazel after setting down the tray of teacups and tray of biscuits. Victor reached for the small table and took one of the teacups, settling it onto his lap for a mere moment. His impatience got the best of him and despite knowing the drink would still be hot, he took a sip of it, burning his lip with the liquid and instantly backing away from it with a grimace and flushed cheeks as the girls laughed lightly at him.

Clara was grateful for his action, which had eased the tension in the room. She smiled weakly.

"Your idiocy is remarkable sometimes, Vic." Hazel chuckled, nudging his shoulder with hers. Victor poked out his tongue at her, followed by his own deep chuckle joining hers.

They noticed the absence of Clara's laugh so they turned to look at her. She had been staring at her lap, fiddling with the skin surrounding her thumb's nail.

Hazel reached out and wrapped her hands around both her thumbs to prevent her from peeling off more skin, breaking her out of her trance as well. She looked up and was met with both their faces looking at her expectantly.

With a sigh, she began to speak, moving her hand so that she was holding Hazel's instead of it just being around her thumb. Hazel squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"Rowan is trying to take over Avelyn." She said. "And he's starting with me." 

"The attack on Shuroo was to mess with Clara's head." Hazel explained further. Victor furrowed his eyebrows.

"But why Shuroo?" He asked. "What does that have to do with Clara?"

Hazel bit her lip and leaned back into her chair, still holding onto her hand, noticing how she'd stiffened at his question. A moment passed before she spoke again.

"Shuroo was my home." 

Victor's lips parted in realization and he looked at the ground, his heart pounding in his chest.

"The way they attacked...it was identical to the night I lost my father." Her voice was weak, on the verge of trembling. "There was fire everywhere and kids were screaming...I could hear their cries even over all the ruckus of the fight."

Tears had pooled in her eyes and it only took a single blink for them to stream silently down her face.

"He's killing people because of me." She whispered, feeling her throat close up.

"He's killing people because he's an awful man," Victor said, his voice deep and fueled by hatred. "It's not your fault, Clara. You are not responsible for his cruel actions."

"He's right, Cee." Hazel agreed. 

Though she heard them; their words didn't reach her heart. She didn't believe so. The weight of the blame grew heavier as she remembered all the spilt blood.

A knock sounded on the door. Noticing Victor's angry face and Clara's clenched jaw, Hazel got up before any of the other two could do so and walked to open the door. Victor's eyes trailed over Clara, noticing her knuckles turning white as she balled them into fists. He scooted closer to her and hesitantly put his hand on hers. Her head snapped up and her grounded eyes were met with an ocean of rage behind his eyes.

"We'll figure this out." He lightly squeezed her hand, his heart beating faster when he felt her relax under his touch. She nodded halfheartedly.

Hazel walked back in with Alan in tow. Victor quickly cleared his throat and distanced himself from Clara, his ears turning red. Clara offered the knight a smile as he settled next to his lover on the smaller couch in the room.